Personal income rose in 2011 in all of the nation’s 366 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for the first time since 2007. Personal income growth ranged from 14.8 percent in Odessa, TX, to 1.0 percent in Rochester, MN. Personal income in the United States rose 5.2 percent in 2011, up from 3.8 percent in 2010. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, accelerated to 2.4 percent in 2011 from 1.9 percent in 2010.

Odessa and neighboring Midland, TX—which ranked second in personal income growth for MSAs at 14.6 percent—had strong earnings growth in mining and related industries, while Rochester’s personal income was affected by a decline in health care earnings.